The Municipal Art Society of New York

Municipal Art Society President
Vin CipollaTo: Donors and Friends of the Municipal Art Society
From: Vin Cipolla, PresidentIt has been just over a month since the Municipal Art Society moved our offices to the Steinway Building at 111 West 57th Street and, now that the dust has settled, I want to update you on our new home as well as our exciting plans for 2010.Since I posted my end-of-year report on the MAS website on December 22, the staff, board and volunteer committees of MAS have been very busy crystallizing our plans for this year, while staying on top of several critical planning and preservation issues. We have also been putting together an exciting series of programs which we will launch in April. And, we are in the midst of formulating plans for our first Summit for New York’s Future, which will take place later this year.While there is too much to cover in this letter, I am delighted to provide you with some highlights and urge you to check our website and newsletters for updates.First, about our new home… We have moved into temporary quarters on the 10th and 14th floors of the Steinway Building and will remain there until our permanent home on the 16th floor is completed. We expect to move to the 16th floor in August so that we’re ready for business after Labor Day. Our new home will feature the Greenacre Reference Room, a by-appointment reference library on New York City development issues which will welcome members, journalists, students and scholars.

We are continuing our search for street-level space that can accommodate our public programs, large gatherings and, of course, our bookstore. While it was tough to give up the large galleries of the Urban Center, the lack of a public space has actually been a boon to our programming. We are taking our public programs “on the road” to all parts of the city (see below), forming partnerships with other organizations and reaching new audiences.

Recent Developments on Several Critical MAS Issues

In the midst of our move, MAS – and New York City – reached some significant milestones on several advocacy and preservation initiatives that we know are important to you.

Farley Post Office

Stimulus funds for Moynihan Station: As a supporter of MAS you know that it’s been more than a decade since we began working with the late Senator Moynihan to advocate for a new station that will serve as a grand gateway to New York City. Last month, the federal government announced that the project will receive $83 million in stimulus funds needed to begin the first phase of construction. This was outstanding news for us and we are more committed than ever to staying on top of this project, which is critical to the city’s economy and quality of life and represents a major catalyst for development of the far West Side.

“Tribute in Light” extended for two more years: MAS was pleased to learn earlier this year that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation will continue to provide funds for the 9/11 memorial for 2010 and 2011. The majestic twin-beam memorial, which MAS co-founded with Creative Time soon after September 11, 2001 and coordinates each year, has become a world renowned symbol to honor the victims of 9/11. The funding will allow us to install the memorial as part of the 10th anniversary commemoration in 2011.

Progress on Coney Island: You may recall that last year, MAS had advocated a number of changes to the City’s rezoning of Coney Island. We are pleased to report that several of our recommendations have recently been acted upon: in January, the City signed a lease with three historic Coney Island establishments on the Boardwalk, thus helping retain the character and life of the area; last month, the Landmarks Preservation Commission agreed to “calendar” the historic Shore Theater for landmarking; and our efforts to urge the City to keep Coney programmed during the summer with interim amusements was realized when the City signed an agreement with an Italian-based amusement company.

Tribute in Light

2010 Initiatives and Programs

In 2009, I began a strategic planning process to reaffirm MAS’s position as a thought-leader on urban livability and to reach out to many new audiences via partnerships with other institutions. Here are a few of the initiatives that have come out of this planning process:

April is Streets Month: MAS is devoting the month of April to “New York’s Changing Streetscape,” with a rich series of public programs and walking tours. Held at the Scandinavia House and the French Institute, programs will ask the question “Are New York’s streets out of (design) control?” (April 7); they’ll look at what makes the best street lighting for the City that Never Sleeps (April 13); and they’ll focus on what it means to create “The Complete Street,” where the needs of all—pedestrians, bicyclists, bus passengers, motorists and truck drivers—are met with an equitable allocation of resources (April 29). Please be sure to watch your mail for our calendar, which will include details on these programs.

New York City’s Streetscapes

Preservation and Climate Change: MAS is leading an effort to promote the role of preservation in the fight against climate change. Specifically, we’ve launched a public policy and public education campaign that seeks to raise awareness and educate the public about the environmental values of retaining and improving the city’s old building stock. Over the past three months, we have held a series of roundtables involving some of the most renowned experts working today on this issue, including representatives from Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and UNESCO. These roundtables will inform a major two-day conference at Columbia University on October 15 and 16.

MAS Summit for New York’s Future: MAS sees the need to identify and target the most pressing issues facing the future of New York and to take bold, swift, forward-thinking actions to most effectively advocate for a livable New York City. Later this year, we will host our first annual MAS Summit for New York’s Future, bringing together the top urban academics and thought-leaders to identify the most significant challenges to the city’s livability that will face New York in the months and years to come. MAS plans to use this event to help us identify the core issues of concern, and provide a platform for us to discuss and debate these issues. We look forward to keeping you abreast of our plans.

Jane Jacobs 2010: MAS is again delighted to be partnering with the Rockefeller Foundation on the nomination process for their 2010 Jane Jacobs Medal and will design a series of enlightening public programs that seek to highlight the legacy of Jacobs in New York City today. The success of MAS’s second annual Jane Jacobs Forum last November – with its focus on urban farming and a standing-room-only audience of more than 350 people – solidified the event as one at which New Yorkers can learn and exchange ideas about a compelling issue affecting their city. This year, MAS will focus the forum on a true Jacobsean issue: The Walkable City, with an emphasis on urban design, health and safety. We are planning to include satellite programs in locations outside Manhattan.

Livable Neighborhoods Program

Providing New Yorkers with Tools for Planning: Understanding the City’s complex planning process is essential for those New Yorkers, who hope to save the character of their neighborhoods, preserve familiar buildings, create new community open space or simply contribute to the livability of their surroundings. Each year, a growing number of MAS members and other activist New Yorkers are taking advantage of our annual Livable Neighborhoods program, offered in collaboration with Hunter College. A training “toolkit” and workshop series, Livable Neighborhoods covers just about every aspect of the planning process – from affordable housing and economic development to ULURP and zoning. Attendance at our workshops last May exceeded our expectations: nearly 200 registered, demonstrating a clear desire for instruction in the basics of community planning. We will soon announce the date of our 2010 workshop series and hope you will join us.

Engaging Future Civic Activists: Our after-school program for high school students, CITI Youth, has shown teens new horizons through civic participation and won plaudits from City officials. MAS trains students from predominantly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods to assist their local community boards using new skills in digital map-making and the use of online urban-planning data for their own neighborhoods. Since 2004, more than 100 interns have proudly served 22 community boards and their constituents through CITI Youth. At the same time, we are providing a valuable service to under-funded community boards that seek to be more effective at addressing issues such as affordable housing and environmental clean-up. This year we plan to expand the program to a total of 30 community boards.

Celebrating the Landmarks Law: April marks the 45th Anniversary of the Landmarks Law, which MAS championed in 1965 and which became the model for similar legislation in cities throughout the country. We will celebrate with several programs and walking tours, including a talk by the incomparable Francis Morrone on How the Architectural Walking Tour Built the Preservation Movement, April 23, 7:00 pm at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Our financial outlook

Like many non-profit organizations in the city, MAS was significantly affected by our nation’s economic downturn. We took necessary measures, including reducing our budget by 30 percent, tightening our staffing and programming, and negotiating favorable terms for our new home.

Thanks to these actions, we have been able to weather this difficult period and we will have a balanced budget when we enter our new fiscal year next month.

Of course, we owe a good deal of our ability to stay afloat to individuals like you who have been unstinting in your support. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued faith and financial support over the last year. Going forward, MAS expects to advocate more rigorously than ever for a more livable New York, and our efforts are only made stronger by your interest and commitment.